National budget 4.30.10

Friday

Apr 30, 2010 at 12:01 AM

GateHouse News Service National Budget
For 4/30/10 editions

Here are the top national stories coming today from GateHouse News Service. Stories are available at http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com. Please submit stories below no later than 6 p.m. local time, unless you have breaking news that is changing significantly.

JUNE FAMILY MAGAZINE: Talk to your children about body image, learn about nontraditional family pets and more
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/ghns_pages/x43875420/Family-magazine-The-true-you

Lifestyles

MORNING MINUTES: Includes Word of the Day, Web Site of the Day, Number to Know, This Day in History, Today’s Featured Birthday and Daily Quote.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/morning_minutes

ASK DOG LADY: Gift of dog to parents backfires -- Dog Lady offers advice to a man disgusted by his parents' coddling of their dog, and helps another owner struggling with puppy behavior. By Monica Collins.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x749223106/Ask-Dog-Lady-Gift-of-dog-to-parents-backfires

GREENSPACE: Rain gauges can save you money and work -- If you have a garden or lawn, you need to know how much rain has fallen. This can save you a money on your water bill, keep you from wasting water, and you’ll know exactly when you need to water and how much. By Jim Hillibish of The Repository.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/home_and_garden/x359581353/Greenspace-Rain-gauges-can-save-you-money-and-work

INVASIVE PLANTS: Delicate look hides ugly truth of garlic mustard -- Don't be fooled by the delicate loveliness of garlic mustard. The otherwise somber spring woods may look like a green-and-white fairy land when this airy alien pops up as if by magic. But its sorcery requires the closer scrutiny once given to a tornado-blown Dorothy: Is it a good witch, or a bad witch? Or both? By Terry Bibo of the Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/environment/x1306090003/Delicate-look-hides-ugly-truth-of-garlic-mustard

YARD ART: Find photo inspiration close to home -- It’s not necessary to travel far to improve one’s nature photography skills. Great subjects may be as near as the backyard garden. Here are a few tips for making the most of your time, camera gear and budget. By Chris Young of the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x826099753/Yard-art-Find-photo-inspiration-close-to-home

ALICIA GOSSMAN-STEEVES: Treat others as we would ourselves -- With the passing of Earth Day, I’ve been thinking a lot about social justice and creation care. As Christians, what is our part in taking care of the earth and in ensuring social justice for those who cannot fight for themselves?
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x938980147/Alicia-Gossman-Steeves-Treat-others-as-we-would-ourselves

ANNE PALUMBO: Something for meat-lovers to chew on -- With grilling season bearing down on us like a pack of charred pigs, I thought now would be a good time to tackle a subject that has tested the best of relationships: meat doneness. The way I see it, there are two kinds of people in this world: Individuals who like their meat undercooked and individuals, such as myself, who like their meat cooked to a stage that would not excite vampires.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x1540365134/Anne-Palumbo-Something-for-meat-lovers-to-chew-on

KENT BUSH: Mt. Everest ‘death zone’ set for spring cleanup - Parents of teenagers have no idea how good they really have it. They are constantly trying to force the youngsters in their home to keep their living area clean. But it is one thing to keep a room clean. It is another thing altogether to clean the tallest mountain on the globe. But that is just what a group of sherpas started doing last Sunday.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x1306089746/Kent-Bush-Mt-Everest-death-zone-set-for-spring-cleanup

WOOD ON WORDS: Sorry — an ‘apology’ isn’t what you think it is - “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” If you were up and around in 1970 and had any awareness of pop culture, you surely heard that line at least once. It’s from the wildly popular film and book “Love Story.” By Barry Wood.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions/columnists/barry_wood/x1406497361/Wood-on-Words-Sorry-an-apology-isn-t-what-you-think-it-is

ELIZABETH DAVIES: Spring is a time to look back, plan ahead - One of the great wonders of spring is the way everything starts all over again. Plants that were dead the year before suddenly sprout green leaves between those old, dried-up stalks. Trees that were barren all winter seemingly bloom overnight. Grass that was matted down under the weight of snow plumps right up again.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/columnists/elizabeth_davies/x1406497618/Elizabeth-Davies-Spring-is-a-time-to-look-back-plan-ahead

REV. TESS BAUMBERGER: The ways of truth and affection - Currently I am in the midst of a series of sermons on “holy manners,” about how we pledge to walk together. This week the focus is that very Unitarian Universalist phrase “as best we know them know or may learn them in days to come.”
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/columnists/x1540364993/Rev-Tess-Baumberger-The-ways-of-truth-and-affection

Entertainment

MAY SUDOKU: May sudoku puzzles (Nos. 673-707) are available for download. Previous puzzles are linked to in this file as well.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/puzzles/x932345647/Sudoku-puzzles-673-707-May-puzzles

AT THE MOVIES WITH GATEHOUSE: Our collection of profiles, columns and reviews
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/carousel/x1596593051/At-the-movies-with-GateHouse

MOVIE REVIEW: 'Nightmare on Elm Street' just another poor horror remake -- Those bloodstained ’70s and ’80s horror remakes just keep popping up: “Halloween,” “The Last House on the Left,” “Friday the 13th.” Now Hollywood can add “A Nightmare on Elm Street” to that underwhelming assemblage. And it fares no better than its recent predecessors. By Ed Symkus of The Patriot Ledger.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/entertainment/x826100254/Movie-review-Nightmare-on-Elm-Street-just-another-poor-horror-remake

MOVIE REVIEW: Nothing about 'Furry Vengeance' is original - The ecologically minded family comedy “Furry Vengeance” certainly practices the Earth-friendly message it preaches. Devoid of an original thought or approach, it’s 100 percent recycled. By Dana Barbuto.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/entertainment/x359581725/Movie-review-Nothing-about-Furry-Vengeance-is-original

MOVIE REVIEW: 'The Good, The Bad, The Weird' a fantastic action movie from Korea - There are many different ways to appreciate this exciting, funny, bizarre, and insane Korean action flick, which labels itself an “Oriental Western” in the end credits. You can watch it carefully, maybe take a few notes, try to keep track of the story and characters. You can let yourself get caught up in the sweep of the big, sprawling plot. Or you can play the game of naming other films that it’s spoofing (or paying homage to) as they come flying by. By Ed Symkus.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/entertainment/x1042474750/Moview-review-The-Good-The-Bad-The-Weird-a-fantastic-action-movie-from-Korea

MOVIE REVIEW: 'The Cartel' a monumental failure - In taking to task the sorry state of our public schools, former New Jersey TV personality Bob Bowdon employs the three R’s of bad filmmaking: righteousness, revilement and redundancy. By Al Alexander.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/entertainment/x1540365532/Movie-review-The-Cartel-a-monumental-failure

‘CARTEL’ FEATURE: Filmmaker takes aim at ‘Cartel’ of education - Journalist-turned-documentarian Bob Bowdon saw something very wrong with the New Jersey public education system. More than $400,000 of public money was earmarked for each classroom, yet an alarming rate of students were not proficient in reading or math. By Dana Barbuto.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/entertainment/x826100263/Filmmaker-takes-aim-at-Cartel-of-education

MOVIE MAN: Films that aren't on DVD -- and how to get them -- With the release of “The African Queen” on DVD and Blu-ray last month, all of the American Film Institute’s “Top 100 Films” are now officially available on disc. Combine that with the thousands of other movies filling store shelves and Netflix queues, and you’d think every movie ever made was on DVD. And you’d be wrong. By Will Pfeifer of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/entertainment/x359581449/Movie-Man-Films-that-arent-on-DVD-and-how-to-get-them

ALBUM REVIEW: Josh Ritter, 'So Runs the World Away' -- With its eerie soundscape, minor chords and ruminations on love and death, Josh Ritter's “So Runs The World Away” feels like it fell to earth from the same universe as Bob Dylan’s “Time Out of Mind” – you can picture Dylan plucking away in the big room while Ritter plays the lounge. By Peter Chianca of North Shore Sunday.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/entertainment/x1406497439/Album-review-Josh-Ritter-So-Runs-The-World-Away

MUSIC SCENE: McClinton likes doing it his way - Twelve record labels later, Texas soulman Delbert McClinton is as relaxed and happy as ever. That’s because he subscribes to the adage that living well is the best revenge. McClinton’s album “Acquired Taste” (New West Records) hit No. 1 on the U.S. blues charts last year. By Jay N. Miller.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/entertainment/x1042474836/Music-Scene-McClinton-likes-doing-it-his-way

KATE NASH: Kate Nash turning heads with new album - Kate Nash arrived in Toronto on Monday, less than a week after her sophomore album, My Best Friend is You, was released. Produced by former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, the new album takes a vastly different turn from Nash’s smashing 2007 debut, Made of Bricks. The new work is a rather interesting yet infectious mix of punk, Motown, riot grrrl, and Brit rock. Nash said it would’ve been a waste of everyone’s time and energy to make a carbon copy of her first record. By Ryan Wood.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/entertainment/x1042560102/Kate-Nash-turning-heads-with-new-album

FARR SIDE: Hantz plays ‘Survivor’ villain role to the hilt - Russell Hantz is known for possessing hidden immunity idols, but who knew he had a “get out of jail free” card, too?
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x57977620/The-Farr-Side-Hantz-plays-Survivor-villain-role-to-the-hilt

News

THIS WEEK IN WEIRD: A man with a knife in his chest, a corpse in a van at a high school, a really drowsy driver and more in this week’s edition.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x749224964/This-Week-in-Weird-April-30

SHERMAN CARTOON: Democrats want to make the decisions.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions/cartoons/x1540364978/Sherman-cartoon-Democrats-want-to-make-the-decisions

EDITORIAL: Climate bill victim of partisan politics -- A news conference to unveil a bipartisan Senate compromise climate bill was to be held Monday, but it didn’t happen because, once again, Washington politics got in the way. That is unfortunate for a number of reasons, first and foremost because this proposal appeared to be a good first step in addressing the nation’s energy needs. From the Norwich (Conn.) Bulletin.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions/editorials/x359581375/Editorial-Climate-bill-victim-of-partisan-politics

EDITORIAL: The dark side of economic dependency on oil -- When one lives in a low-lying hurricane-prone area of the nation, as Louisiana residents do, one learns to deal with natural disasters. Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Andrew, Betsy, Audrey. Need we say more? Louisianans' fate is to also have to deal with man-made disasters. From the Weekly Citizen (Gonzales, La.)
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions/editorials/x1540365754/Editorial-The-dark-side-of-economic-dependency-on-oil

MICHAEL WINSHIP: Goldman Sachs: What hath fraud wrought? -- Goldman Sachs is the Blackwater of finance, the latest in a long line of companies you love to hate, like AIG and the Dallas Cowboys. Hit “refresh” on any financial news website and you’ll likely get yet another revelation of the firm’s colossal and impressively varied shenanigans.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x826099660/Michael-Winship-Goldman-Sachs-What-hath-fraud-wrought

Business / Ag

HOMEBUYING 1: Realtors hope homebuying stays up; experts skeptical -- The last few months have kept Tam Derry busier than most of 2009. Derry, a Realtor with Dickerson & Nieman, hopes the momentum of the extended first-time homebuyers credit continues even after the credit expires Friday. By Melissa Westphal of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/business/x1540364971/Realtors-hope-homebuying-stays-up-experts-skeptical

HOMEBUYING 2: First-time tax credit jolts housing market -- Friday was the last day that first-time home buyers could purchase a home and receive a refundable $8,000 federal tax credit. Real estate agents say the credit has helped spur a significant increase in home showings and sales, and home buyers have in recent weeks been rushing to close their purchases. By Robert Wang of The Repository.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/business/x1406497534/First-time-tax-credit-jolts-housing-market

BIZ BITS: Weekly business column, with tips on a nursing career, BBB warning about door-to-door insurance scam and more.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/business/x57972035/Biz-Bits-U-S-facing-a-severe-shortage-of-nurses

DAVE RAMSEY: Should I reduce my tithe? - Weekly financial Q&A, with advice on tithing and company credit cards.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/business/x932358720/Dave-Ramsey-Should-I-reduce-my-tithe

SHOESTRING LIVING: Are big-boxes a big deal? - I love shopping at big-box stores. For a family of five, it makes perfect sense to buy oversized packages of toilet paper and paper towels and even fruits and vegetables. We’re a bunch of blueberry lovers around here, and nothing makes me happier than the huge container of blueberries I purchase at Costco. By Molly Logan Anderson.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/business/x43872593/Shoestring-Living-Are-big-boxes-a-big-deal

CHECKOUT LANE: Tips to finding the perfect camera -- In general, there are two main types of cameras you can buy: the point-and-shoot and the SLR. Mike Adams, manager of Ritz Camera in Braintree, Mass., says a point-and-shoot camera, which has many automatic features, is good for beginners and novices. The single-lens reflex is the top choice of professionals. By Lana Lagomarsini of The Patriot Ledger.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/business/x57969403/Checkout-Lane-Tips-to-finding-the-perfect-camera

MAKING CENTS: Update your estate plan -- Under the current federal estate tax laws, there is no federal death tax. Of course, no one believes that this situation will remain the same for long, but where it goes is still up for debate. The cold hard facts are that federal laws will be different on Jan. 1, 2011, or sooner, and many states are likely to have changes, too. By John P. Napolitano of The Patriot Ledger.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/business/x749217726/Making-Cents-Update-your-estate-plan

ON COMPUTERS: Truly useful websites -- Great websites are compelling because they provide unique services. That’s a rarity in our generic Web world, where you can get the same info on 50 sites. The envelope please: My nominations for the Most Truly Useful Websites of 2010. By Jim Hillibish of The Repository.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/business/x43872849/On-Computers-Truly-useful-websites